Swingable walkers



y 1963 c. E. MURCOTT 3,

SWINGABLE WALKERS Filed Sept. 8, 1961 5 AQ- E5 /0 25 M "m Q a mu INVENTOR.

/3 C/MAL 5 f. Mmcarr United States Patent 3,098,651 SWINGABLE WALKERS Charles E. Murcott, Valley Drive, Bay Crest, Huntington, N.Y. Filed Sept. 8, 1961, Ser. No. 136,864 9 Claims. (Cl. 272-705) This invention relates to what are generally referred to as walkers for supporting invalids in developing walking ability. More particularly, the present invention deals with a device of this type and kind of the swingable-type, namely wherein the sides of the walker can be alternately advanced, giving the user or patient full support While taking forward steps.

Still more particularly, the invention deals with a walker of the character described, wherein means is provided for definitely limiting swinging movement of the walker.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a walker made according to my invention, with parts of the construction broken away and with part shown in section.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the walker showing one side portion of a swung or advanced position in full lines and in the normal alined position with the opposed side in dotted lines, part of the dotted line showing being broken away; and

FIG. 3 is .a front view of the upper portion of the walker, omitting background showing, with the central portion of the walker broken away and with part shown in section.

In illustrating one adaptation and use of my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawing a walker comprising two side U-shaped frames 10, and, as these frames are of identical construction, the brief description of the one side frame, shown in FIG. 1, will apply to both. Each frame has depending front and rear leg posts 11 and 12, joined at the top by a crosshead handgrip portion 13, the handgrip portion of the frame 10 being identified by the reference character 13' in FIG. 2 of the drawing. Each handgrip portion has a rubber or plastic handgrip sleeve 14, 14'.

The lower ends of the posts 11 and 12 have, on inner adjacent surfaces thereof, a plurality of vertically spaced apertures 15, the apertures of the post 11 only being shown, but the post *12 will be of similar construction and have apertures in alinement with the apertures 15, as will be apparent. At 16, 16' of FIG. 1 I have shown adjustab-le leg members having mounted therein a spring extended button 17, the button of the leg member 16' being indicated at 17 These are well-known in the art and are manually depressed in adjusting the position of the leg members in the post to control the height of the crossheads 13, 13'. At the lower ends of the leg members are rubber or other feet 18, 18' to establish positive engagement with a floor or other surface, over which the walker is used.

The lower portions of each of the frames 10, 10' are spaced and supported by a reinforcing U-shaped member 19, the member r19 of the frame 10 only being shown. However, a similar member is attached to the frame 10'. The sides 20 of the member 19 are flattened and halfrounded to fit snugly upon the posts 11 and 12 and are secured thereto by bolts or similar fastenings, as indicated at 21, facilitating detachment of the members 19 if desired in the packaging and shipment of the walker, as later described.

The upper crosshead or handgrip portions 13,13 of the side frames are braced and spaced by a check rod 22 having rearwardly ofiset ends 23 pivoted to the undersurfaces of the crossheads 13, 13', as seen at 24, 24. In this connection, the pivots, as at 24, 24, are preferably in the form of bolts or similar fasteners, facilitating detachment of the rod 22, if desired. Considering FIG. 1 of the drawing, it will appear that a washer 25 is disposed between the pivoted ends of the rod 22 and the crossheads 13, 13' to prevent any frictional binding action of the rod on the side frames in the swinging movement of the walker. The offset ends include plugs for closing the tube and one of these plugs is illustrated at 23' in FIG. 1.

Considering FIG. 2 of the drawing and particularly the dotted line showing of the side 13 of the frame, it will ap' pear that by reason of spacing the pivots 24, 24 wider than the spacing of posts 11, 11 the rod 22 normally supports the side frames 10, 10 in a rearwardly flared relationship to each other, when the frames are in alinement. It will also appear, in FIG. 2, that the rod 22 is contained within the environment of the frames 10, 10' and the erossbrace 29 in all positions of the walker.

Fixed to the upper end of the front post 11 of the frame 10 is a collar 26, a similar collar 26' being fixed to the front post 11 of the frame 10', as noted in FIG. 3 of the drawing. Detachably secured to the lower portion of the posts 11, 11' by means of suitable fastenings, as at 27, 27 are other collars 28, 28. Mounted on and joining the two frames, or the posts 11, 11' thereof, is a suitable crossb-race 29. In the construction shown, the crossbrace includes, at its ends, tubular bearing sleeves or portions 30, 30 joined by upper and lower brace tubes 31, thus forming what might be termed a square brace frame. It will be understood that the bearing sleeves 30, 30 form hearings in which the posts 11, 11', between the upper and lower collars, are free to rotate, so that, in the use of the walker, each side frame can be forwardly advanced, in the manner shown at the right of FIG. 2, wherein the frame 10' is advanced, this giving clearance for advancement of the right foot of the user; whereupon, the other side frame 10 can be advanced beyond the position fixed by the frame 10' to permit the forward advance of the left foot of the user.

In the showing in FIG. 2, the frame 10' has been shown in its fully advanced position in order to illustrate that the check tubular rod 22 will strike the forward curved portion 32 of the frame 10, as diagrammatically illustrated at 33 in FlG. 2, to limit advancement of the frame 10'. The same operation takes place in checking advanced movement of the frame 10 with respect to the frame 10'. In connection with this description, it will be understood that advancement of the side frames will be consistent with the step taken by the user and, in the early stages, this advancement will be slight and, as the patient or user improves in the use of the legs, the degree of advancement of the side frames will be increased.

As previously stated, from a standpoint of packaging for shipment, the brace 29 can be removed from the side frames by first removing the legs :16, 16 from the lower ends of the posts 11 and 12, after which, the members 19 are removed from the posts, the collars 28, 28' are slid olf the lower ends of the posts; whereupon, the brace 29 can be removed. At the same time, the tubular check rod 22 can be detached from the upper crossheads 13, 13' of the side frames. This will reduce the various parts of the walker into a package of minimum thickness with areas controlled by the dimensions of the frames 10, 10' and the brace 29. In other instances, the walker can be collapsed without detachment of the brace 29 or the members 19 and legs 16 by simply removing the check rod 22 and then collapsing the two side frames upon the surface of the brace 29 to the extent that this collapsing can 3 be per-formed and this would minimize the size of the ultimate package in which the Walker is shipped and would minimize assemblage on the part of the purchaser. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the walker can be said to be knockdown and/or collapsible.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A swingable walker of the character defined comprising two reinforced U-shaped side frames having upper crossheads forming integral handgrip portions and front and rear depending posts, bracing means positioned between [the upper portion of the front posts, said means and said frames being swingably coupled for movement of the frames one with respect to the other, a check rod adjacent the front posts, means pivotally supporting said rod in connection with the side frames for controlling relative spacing and movement of said frames, said check rod having diverging ends, and said diverging ends engaging the front posts of the side frames in checking swinging movement of said frames.

2. A walker as defined in claim 1, wherein the lower portions of the posts of each frame have vertically spaced apertures, leg members including means engaging the apentures of said posts in adjusting the height of the handgrip portions of said frames, and (the leg members having feet at their lower ends.

3. A walker as defined in claim 1, wherein the handgrip portions of each frame have central handgrip sleeves of soft flexible material.

4. A Walker as defined in claim 1, wherein said first named means comprises a frame having bearing sleeves on said front posts, spacing means joining upper and lower ends of said sleeves, and means on the front posts at upper and lower ends of said bearing sleeves for positioning rthe bearing sleeves on said front posts.

5. A walker as defined in claim 1, wherein said first named means and check rod are detachable with respect to the side frames in complete collapsing of the walker parts for packaging and shipment.

6. A walker as defined in claim 1, wherein said last named means is coupled with the handgrip portions, and said check rod is arranged directly 'beneamh the handgrip portions.

7. A walker as defined in claim 6, wherein reinforce ments of the side frames include bracing means joining the front and rear posts below said first named bracing means.

8. A walker as defined in claim 1, wherein the spacing of the pivots of the check rod is greater than the spacing between the front posts to rearwardly flare said side frames.

9. A Walker as defined in claim 1, wherein said check rod is contained within the environment of the side frames and said second named means in all positions of said walker.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 612,278 Sdhlunz Oct. 11, 1898 1,448,783 Blewitt et a1. Mar. 20, 1923 2,282,689 Ames May 12, 1942 2,583,786 Marzucco Jan. 29, 1952 2,666,478 Shwayder Jan. 19, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 858,163 Great Britain Jan. 11, 1961 

1. A SWINGABLE WALKER OF THE CHARACTER DEFINED COMPRISING TWO REINFORCED U-SHAPED SIDE FRAMES HAVING UPPER CROSSHEADS FORMING INTEGRAL HANDGRIP PORTIONS AND FRONT AND REAR DEPENDING POSTS, BRACING MEANS POSTIONED BETWEEN THE UPPER PORTION OF THE FRONT POSTS, SAID MEANS AND SAID FRAMES BEING SWINGABLY COUPLED FOR MOVEMENT OF THE FRAMES ONE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER, A CHECK ROD ADJACENT THE FRONT POSTS, MEANS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID ROD IN CONNECTION WITH THE SIDE FRAMES FOR CONTROLLING RELATIVE SPACING AND MOVEMENT OF SAID FRAMES, SAID CHECK ROD HAVING DIVERGING ENDS, AND SAID DIVERGING ENDS EN- 